Discography

Crazy Rhythm 2000

Hank Penny should be a household name. But the reason he isn't is the same reason that this release cooks: attitude. Seems Hank wouldn't take shit from anybody. As a result, he burned a lot of bridges and missed more than a few opportunities to further his career.

He started his first band, the Radio Cowboys, in 1935 and later became a regular on the Boone County Jamboree out of Cincinnati. He acted in a couple of Westerns, yukked it up on Spade Cooley's TV show in the 40's, DJ'd here and there across California and Kansas, and tore the place up in clubs across the country from the 30's to the 70's.

Crazy Rhythm brings together 30 songs recorded for the Standard Transcription Service in 1951 and never released commercially until now. You get Hank's signature tune, "Won't You Ride in My Little Red Wagon," along with a grab bag of dancehall Western Swing, proto-rockabilly and a few ballads and novelty tunes thrown in for good measure. A quick scan of the song titles alone reveals that we are dealing with one unique talent.

Although he never achieved the fame he deserved, Hank's music remains as a dazzling example of one of country music's unheralded greats.